The role of the designer as interpreter, bringing her/his own cultural and aesthetic background to the “text” at hand. Students were given the same text (a poem called “typography, my way”) to structure a 4-page sequence with type and images. From the comparison of the different approaches and solutions to the same problem, the students learned that there are design rules, conventions, as well as design constraints, and all have a role in the construction of the sequence. The text of the poem was the basis of the project, students were to read the poem carefully and attempt to express/enhance/interpret the author’s meaning, while still preserving its integrity.

Typography, My Way

Distraction the essence of all things good.

I tie my arms upon you like a bow,

musing over inadequacies,

fitting parallels and the tips of ruling pens

into some shocked perspective.

It is vast at my wingtips.

The room so angular, so pointed and particular,

I spy myself in pairs of pupils — such a face.

Before they invented compasses,

how were the circles born?

On sea foam like fair Aphrodite,

or through the grasping of determined fingers,

curling in as leaves?

No matter

You hug me, all words gone,

and there is nothing left for letterforms to say.

the jointed slurs of speech bubble around us,

beautiful without line, unknown to ink or rule or pen

perfect in their clarity

Anonymous

Written in 1991 by a student of typography at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. Transcribed by the teacher, Pino Trogu & rediscovered in 2005, San Francisco.

First published as part of a limited edition boxed set of poetry entitled Verse into TYPE, the APHA Poetry Portfolio. American Printing History Association, 2006. 230 copies were handset and printed by Jack W. Stauffacher of The Greenwood Press and included in the APHA portfolio. San Francisco, 2006.